The drive device serves for driving the motor vehicle and in this regard, therefore, for supplying a torque directed at driving the motor vehicle. The drive device supplies the torque, which may also be referred to as the drive torque, at the driven shaft of the drive device. For example, the driven shaft is operatively connected rigidly and/or permanently to a wheel axle of the motor vehicle or to at least one wheel of the motor vehicle that can be associated with the wheel axle. The operative connection between the driven shaft and the wheel axle or the wheel can be produced via a transmission, such as, for example, a differential transmission, in particular a center differential transmission, and/or an axle differential transmission.
The drive device has a plurality of drive assemblies, namely, at least the first drive assembly and the second drive assembly. The two drive assemblies can basically be designed in any way. For example, the drive assemblies are of different type, so that the drive device in this regard is designed as a hybrid drive device. In this case, the first drive assembly can exist, for example, in the form of an internal combustion engine and the second drive assembly can be designed as an electric motor.
Additionally, the drive device has the epicyclic gear train. Via said epicyclic gear train the first drive assembly, the second drive assembly, and the driven shaft are coupled to each other or at least can be coupled to each other. The first drive assembly, the second drive assembly, and the driven shaft are hereby linked or can be linked to different transmission elements of the epicyclic gear train. Conversely, one of the drive assemblies or the driven shaft is associated with each of the transmission elements. The first drive assembly is hereby coupled to or can be coupled to the first transmission element, the second drive assembly is coupled to or can be coupled to the second transmission element, and the driven shaft is coupled to or can be coupled to the third transmission element. For each of the cases, the coupling can hereby occur optionally rigidly and/or permanently, for example.
The epicyclic gear train may also be referred to as planetary gear train and is preferably designed as an epicyclic toothed gear train. Preferably, the first drive assembly and the second drive assembly are coupled to each other or can be coupled to each other exclusively via the epicyclic gear train. In addition, it is preferably provided that at least the second drive assembly is coupled to or can be coupled to the driven shaft only via the epicyclic gear train. Additionally or alternatively, this can also be provided for the first drive assembly.
Known from the published document DE 101 16 989 A1 is, for example, a starting element and torque converter for working machines with energy recovery, composed of an arrangement of one planetary gearbox or a plurality of planetary gearboxes, which is or are arranged between a mechanical drive device and a mechanical driven device. It is thereby provided that one of the individual shafts of the epicyclic gearbox or gearboxes can be braked or driven, regardless of the other constraints in the system, by an electric motor, which is connected to an electrical energy storage system, so that it is possible to match the torque and the speed or rpm between the drive device and the driven device.